1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stackable cutlery element with a handle with a wall and a functional element shaped onto the handle.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Cutlery of plastic, in particular knives, spoons and forks, are widely used whether as disposable cutlery for single use or in places where plastic cutlery is preferred to metal cutlery for reasons of weight and safety, for example in an aircraft. Because cutlery elements are manufactured with relatively thin walls, for reasons of cost and weight, sufficient stability is achieved by suitable shaping. For example, handles with a T-shaped, H-shaped, S-shaped or U-shaped cross-section are conventionally used.
It may be desirable to stack several cutlery elements, for example for simpler erection of packaging units or for space-saving storage, particularly of cutlery elements intended for multiple use.
The state of the art provides different solutions for designing stackable cutlery elements with a U-shaped cross-section.
European Patent Reference EP 0,129,495 A2, for example, discloses stackable cutlery elements in the form of spoons, knives and forks, whose handles have an essentially U-shaped cross-section. The handle is designed so that the convex side of a handle can be arranged positively in the concave side of a further identical handle. A plurality of cutlery elements can be stacked in this manner. The shaping of the cutlery elements and the stack density that can be achieved are in this case limited because of the U-shaped design of the handle. Also, the individual cutlery elements may become stuck due to the wedge shape of the handles.
European Patent Reference EP 1,514,497 A1 discloses stackable cutlery elements with a U-shaped cross-section in which projects fitted on the concave side of the handle can be engaged in recesses fitted on the convex side of an identical handle. A larger number of identical cutlery elements thus may be connected positively to a packaging unit after manufacture. The user must in each case irreversibly break off one cutlery element from the packaging unit by exerting force, which means that this arrangement is in principle not suitable for re-usable cutlery elements.